Getting Tough With Tokyo The U.S. assails its biggest economic ally for failing to open its markets to American goods, but hopes to avoid triggering a costly trade war

To bash or not to bash: that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous trade practices. Or to take arms against protectionist barriers. To punish, to avenge. Perchance to trigger a trade war. Ay, there's the rub that must give us pause.

The dilemma is as thorny as was Hamlet's: Should the U.S. adopt a tougher, more adversarial trade posture toward Japan? From Silicon Valley to Capitol Hill, many Americans long to retaliate against Japan for what they regard, with some justification, as one-sided trading practices. Yet the urge to lash out is tempered...